Do not forsake us!
by Neil Bergmann
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You are among us, Lord, and we bear your name; do not forsake us! (Jeremiah 14:9b)
Read Jeremiah 14:7–9
In real estate, the three most important factors are location, location, location. In reading the Bible, the three most important factors are context, context, context. Jeremiah is a complex book that combines stories written in prose and prophecies and laments written as poems. Today’s reading is a poetic section of a lament. Jeremiah is trying to convince the people of Judah that they are on the wrong track and are about to face God’s judgement. This lament is in response to a drought that God has sent as a warning.
The problem wasn’t that the people were not religious. They faithfully followed all the rules of temple worship and sacrifice. God had made a covenant with David, which said that David’s offspring and his kingdom would last forever (2 Samuel 7:8–16), so they were satisfied that, provided they continued their temple worship faithfully, God would always protect them.
The prophets, including Jeremiah, kept telling them that fancy temple worship wasn’t what God wanted – God wanted them to obey his commandments, not to worship foreign gods, and to act justly and fairly to each other. The previous part of the lament in Jeremiah 14 complains about all the problems that the drought is causing. Then, in today’s reading, the complaints are directed at God. The people admit that they have made some mistakes, but they need his help.
There are two ways of interpreting their complaints. Firstly, they are admitting their sins, changing their sinful ways and praying for God’s mercy. The second interpretation (which I prefer) is that they are saying they have a deal with God, even though they’ve made some mistakes: ‘God, you are meant to be taking care of us, so hurry up and keep up your end of the bargain!’
Like the Pharisees in yesterday’s reading about the blind man, they are too convinced of their own correctness and entitlement to realise that the situation has changed. The Babylonians would soon invade Judah, and the people would be sent into exile.
With gospel eyes, we now know that the descendant of David who would rule forever was Jesus. Jesus made a new covenant to end the cycle of rebellion, punishment and restoration. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice so that all of us are now God’s people – for eternity.
We can now confidently call on God for his comfort and protection, not because we are following God’s commandments, but because Jesus has redeemed us.
God, we confidently call to you in prayer, not because of our goodness, but because of Jesus. Thank you for all that you do for us. Amen.
Neil Bergmann is currently the chair of Lutheran Earth Care, Australia and New Zealand. A retired computer engineer, he worships at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Rochedale, Queensland.
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